How The Cookie Crumbles
by Sage1
Summary: 32-year-old Mary-Anne Winifred Ngai has the most successful cookie shop in her area. With three-dozen people coming in every day just to get a delectable batch of her savory gourmet cookies, she hardly noticed the tall dark redheaded man dressed in black.


Title: How The Cookie Crumbles

Author: Sage

Summary: 32-year-old Mary-Anne Winifred Ngai has the most successful cookie shop in her area. With three-dozen people coming in every day just to get a delectable batch of her savory gourmet cookies, she hardly noticed the tall dark redheaded man dressed in black that had asked her to cater, staring at her from the corner of the store. (Soul Mated NW Story)

Rating: Hmm, not sure yet. Haven't thought that far ahead.

Spoilers/Disclaimers: Mary-Anne Winifred Ngai, Sunshine Sol Ngai, and a few other minor ones belong to me. The rest, that you recognize to be L.J. Smiths, then are hers. The Night World, to be more specific Red Fern. Also there is a person named Hunter in here however the person with the name is a girl.

**Joke of the week (to me anyway):** A teacher asked her class "What do you want out of life?" A little girl in the back raised her hand and said, "All I want out of life is four animals." The teacher asked "Really and what four animals would that be?" The little girl said "A mink on my back, a jaguar in the garage, a tiger in bed, and a jackass to pay for all of it". 

The parentheses around words, phrases or anything else are indicating that someone is thinking to himself or herself. Like this (Please review this new delicious story) *Laughs* hey you get my suggestion, yes? My goal for each chapter is that when the chapter is done the readers (you) will want some cookies or sweets. If it happens than I've succeeded! Yay! 

**Sol ~**

Sun 

**Sunshine ~**

_The warm light of day_

Winifred ~ 

_Friend of Piece_

Mary ~ 

_Bitter_

Anne ~ 

_Gracious_

Ngai ~ 

_Herbs_

Chapter One:

"What color would you like? Perhaps you'd like the gold, the red, or the silver box? If you pick the gold you'll get the silver candy holders, if you pick the silver you'll get the gold candy holders, if you pick the red you get a choice of either red or pink candy holders."

The young man smiled. "Um, what would you suggest? I was thinking red because of Valentines Day, but after seeing the silver and gold I'm not sure. You're a girl –err women, what would you suggest?" he asked lifting his eyebrow in an un-asked question.

The blonde hair, blue-eyed young man leaned suggestively over the counter, a little closer than Mary-Anne thought necessary. It took her about a fraction of a second before she realized he was flirting, not tasteful flirting, but the kind that says come-run-away-with-me-and-I'll-please-you-forever. As in if Mary-Anne would ever even think of saying she'd go out with him he'd drop his girlfriend like she was a hot metal pan. 

Putting on a fake polite smile Mary-Anne, although inside she was cringing at his obvious suggestion (even though he didn't say it), began to suggest colors.

"Your _girlfriend_ might like a change other than the usual red and pink. Gold is a color that represents faithfulness and loyalty," Mary-Anne spoke as she tried to keep her distaste for the young man at non-noticeable level.

The guys' eyes widened. "Not gold. Emma doesn't like gold."

(The little twerp!)

"Well, silver represents sensitivity and creativity."

His ears seemed to perk up at 'creativity' and he smiled. "I'll bet you're really creative. I mean having to bake all of these delectable sweets."

Mary-Anne almost lost her cool exterior as she felt the need to drop her jaw. This guy was incorrigible. He had a girlfriend and he was well a decade in a half of years younger than she. 

(Oh what is wrong with these young men today? Whoa today? Yeah it was only that nice wonderful perfect gentleman that left me to raise a baby girl after he was through.) 

Gritting her teeth she yet again put on a smile. "How 'bout you just take the silver."

The boys' eyes darkened as he realized he'd been rejected before really even asking. "Fine. How much?" his voice dramatically loss his warm, almost hopeful voice and the cold iciness dripped out.

She told him the price and almost grimaced as he took out a silver platinum credit card.

(How nice! Daddy gave him a credit card. Spoiled rich kid!)

"Have a good day!" Mary-Anne smiled as her customer left with a dozen of chocolate dipped strawberries wrapped in gold candy holders inside of a silver box.

"Oh, hey Sunshine," the young man said smiling deeply.

The sixteen-year-old girls' eyes widened and she replied with a dreamy note. "Hi Lindsey."

(Lindsey?)

The boy gave one last smile and left the shop. Mary-Anne stared at her daughter awaiting an answer for Sunshine's response to that horrid boy.

Sunshine squealed. "Mom! Do you know who that was?"

Mary-Anne cocked her eyebrow. "Lindsey I'm guessing!" she then laughed. "What kind of name is that for a guy?"

Sunshine gave her a puppy dog pout. "Don't make fun! He's the most gorgeous guy in school, he's quarter back of the football team, and he dates Emma Goldie who's the prettiest, like a rubber band gymnast, oh man!" Sunshine groaned.

"What prettier than my baby?" 

"Mom!"

"Oh Sun-bun it's true! You have the most wonderful aquamarine colored eyes, your eyebrows are so perfectly shaped; coal colored. Doe eyes! You have the most precious bow lips that I could just kiss too pieces. Your hair is as golden as the sun. You have a cute little pixie nose. You know I wish you didn't have such a good body, all those guys, anxiety, fear is kicking in," Mary-Anne's eyes widened playfully as she bent her back threatening a fake fainting spell.

Sunshine giggled. "Mom you need to get a life!"

"Hey! You're late," Mary-Anne added suddenly.

Sunshine shrank back. "I went to go get a tongue piercing."

"Oh yeah? Let me see," Sunshine mimicked

Mary-Anne smiled as she saw her daughters eyes widen. 

"You're serious! You mean you'd let me get one?" she asked in hopeful pursuit.

Mary-Anne responded with a very loud, very obnoxious 'Ha'. 

"Momma! Hunter has one and so does her boyfriend Jack! Why can't I have one? Hunter was bragging about Jacks vibrating tongue ring. She said he was absolutely wonderful with the…um never mind."

Mary-Anne pierced her lips. "A huh, yeah good idea stopping there. You have a crush on that rich brat don't you?" she asked suddenly.

"Every one who is every one has a crush on Lindsey."

Mary-Anne smirked again. 

(What a name! Good for a girl and all, but for guy, oh no!)

Sunshine's eyes widened. "Mom he was flirting with you!" 

"Yeah! You saw that? Stupid little twit!" Mary-Anne huffed in disgust.

"Face it Mom, you are one hot momma! It's where I got the hotness that is me! Maybe he'll break it off with Emma. I mean you're just an older duplicate of me."

Mary-Anne scoffed. "You just had to point out the older part didn't you? You will NOT go out with that boy!"

Her daughter giving a pout look shrugged her shoulder and stepped in front of the cash registered.

Then she gently smiled at her daughter and chucked her gently under the chin before kissing her on the forehead. "Okay sweat-pea I got to head towards the kitchen."

Sunshine grinned. "Leftovers for tonight maybe?" 

"Maybe!"

Mary-Anne went through the double swinging doors and went to the stove. When they'd made The Cookie Shoppe Sunshine had insisted on having a kitchen with an open front so everyone could see her mother cooking the sweet smells of different cookies, foods, and cakes. Since Sunshine had been a painter Mary-Anne had insisted on her painting the small chocolate chip cookies as a lining on the kaki colored walls. 

"Oh by the way Sunshine…"

The beautiful girl, who'd situated herself at the cash register awaiting customers, turned in her stool. "Yeah mom?"

"Whatever happened to the Lebkuchen that I stored in the refrigerator yesterday?"

Sunshine gave a nervous shrug. "Um, Hunter, Jack, and I kind of got the munchies when you'd gone to the store to get more cream of tarter for the Snicker Doodles."

"I figured."

"Sorry!"

"Not a problem. I'll just start making extra patches of them for you guys when I leave the three of you alone in my store."

Sunshine grinned sheepishly. "So what's the specialty for today?"

"Cookies, cakes, or the food?"

"Mom every time I ask you tha,t it's always the same!"

"Cookies right…um I was thinking of some Amaretto Butter Cookies."

"Yum! Amaretto goodness!"

"You can have some when they're done!"

Sunshine gave a suggestive smile. "Oh, oh! Can you make me an Café di Amaretto?"

"With whip cream and sprinkles?"

"Of course! Yummy coffee!"

"So what's on the dinner menu?" Sunshine asked.

Mary-Anne who'd walked over to the coffee/cappuccino maker turned slightly. "For us or the shop?"

"Both."

"For the shop appetizer special Broiled Seafood Canapés and/or Sun-Dried Tomatoes stuffed with Mozzarella."

"Second one," Sunshine said as she bent down into the glass display booth and pulled out a chocolate covered banana.

"Sunshine!"

"I'm hungry! Okay for the dinner special?"

"Spaghetti Carbonara."

Sunshine jumped for joy. "Please say you're making leftovers for that?"

"Nah, I want Pizza Hut," Mary-Anne smiled.

"Man!" Sunshine sighed as she plummeted herself down into her stool. 

(Only Sunshine could say that with such disgust!)

A group of teenagers could be seen walking across the street to the shop. 

"Oh customers!" Mary-Anne grinned shaking her chest.

Sunshine rolled her eyes. "You get a ca-jillion a day. You'd think you wouldn't be excited every time people came in. –Err, mom these customers look rowdy!"

Mary-Anne glanced up. "They don't look so bad!"

(Understatement of the year! Body art aka tattoos, piercing all over the face, multi-colored hair, and chains, something that looked like a knife?)

"Mom," Sunshine spoke and pointed. "Look at that guy."

Mary-Anne lifted an eyebrow. "The hot, yet scary Goth with the purple hair?"

"Yeah-huh!"

Noticing that dreamy look enter her daughters' eyes yet again Mary-Anne sighed.

Behind them a slightly older male looking to be around twenty-three to twenty-five followed. His red hair shimmered in the wind. A whole other group from the opposite side came barging in. 

"Hey Mage, Sun-bun!" Jack said smiling.

Mary-Anne shook her head at his nickname for her. "You know Jackie that name indicates that I'm a magician or sorcery."

"I know," he shrugged and wrapped his arm around his girlfriend, Hunter.

"Taylor what did you do to your hair?" Mary-Anne asked the now orange haired girl.

"Stupid dye I got didn't go well with the color I wanted to streak my hair with after I died it!"

Another group of teenagers entered followed by the ones that looked like trouble.

"Hey M.A. do you have any of those chocolate oatmeal things?" hollered a voice above the noise that had risen because of the huge crowd of thirty people.

"No-Bake cookies?"

"Yeah that's it."

"How much do you want?"

"Two dozen!"

Mary-Anne sighed. "All right. Let me make some."

"Um, I'll take, this is too go, six chocolate covered strawberries, and two orders of Angel Hair Pasta with Lemon and hold the garlic on the first one," a middle-aged man spoke.

Sunshine typed it up with a huge smile. "I have to say that the Angel Hair Pasta is the best it's been this week."

"How do you know?" Mary-Anne questioned.

"I-I…."

"Yeah!"

The older man gave a laugh and produced the bills. Sunshine scrambled to get the red and black box that held half a dozen chocolate covered strawberries. She handed the man the box.

"And if you'll just take a seat at one of the booths we'll have your pasta out to you in…" she glanced at her watch, "exactly twenty minutes!"

"Thank you!" 

"A dozen Almond Crescents, a box of Ginger Snaps, a dozen of Coconut cookies, and six of the Ranger cookies."

As Mary-Anne finished with the Angel Pasta she went over to check her No-bake cookies. No one ever could have guessed that with the simple ingredients of cocoa, milk, sugar, butter, Quaker oats, Peanut butter, and vanilla extract could make such a wonderful savory treat. 

As she placed one of the oat peanut butter chocolate cookies into her mouth, she sighed in passion. The contents of the cookie melted in her mouth. With the cookies meeting her approval she set them in the different colored candy holders that rested in a white glistening box. She then went over to the Angel Pasta, spewed the ingredients in to two Styrofoam doggie boxes, went over to the opening that connected the front with the kitchen, and dinged the bell.

"No-Bake and Angel finished."

Sunshine tossed the doggie boxes down the sliding counter where the man retrieved his food. The No-bake cookies followed.

The Goth punk Sunshine had been drooling over was next he grinned sexily and spoke a little too seductively for Mary-Anne's taste. "I'll take one cup of Chocolate Coffee Kiss, one Hot Kiss, one Café au Lait, and two Razzmatazz."

"Ahuh," Sunshine said stunned. 

Mary-Anne cleared her throat. "Sunshine!"

She jerked and glanced at her mother. "What? Oh-right! Okay."

She walked over to the front coffee machine as Mary-Anne went to the kitchen coffee machine. 

The small bell dinged again. "Razz and Lait done."

As Sunshine mixed the Irish Cream Liqueur into the drink she turned to smile at her mother. She then finished the Kisses and brought them over the hot young man.

"Um, w-would you like whip cream?" Sunshine smiled.

The guy leaned forward on his palms and smiled down at her. "Of course."

She lifted up the Reddi-Whip and sprayed it on. 

"With sprinkles on top?"

"Best place to be don't you think?" the guy grinned.

"Yep. Here," Sunshine placed the last two cups into the holder.

Mary-Anne gave a slight glare, what is it with these guys and double-meanings…thank goodness Sunshine wasn't getting it!

"Thank you! Hey, you wouldn't by chance be Sunshine Sol Ngai?" the guy asked.

His green eyes twinkled at the look that crept into Sunshines' face. Mary-Anne glared. 

(What an ass! Sunny baby don't fall for it!) 

She smiled. "Yeah. How do you know?"

"I go to your school. Don't you remember? You bumped into me and yelled at me to and I quote 'God where did you learn how to walk you idiot!'. I knew you looked familiar."

Sunshine grimaced. "Sorry 'bout that. Bad encounter with the devil…Mrs. Nox."

"Ah yeah I met."

"Hey, can you hurry up? I'd like to order!" an impatient snooty woman spoke with anger.

"Sorry what can I get you?"

"A slice of cheesecake and a cup of non-decaf, no cream, no sugar."

"Right."

The guy with the purple hair and piercings turned to go sit with his group of friends he'd come in with. He then flipped a stray strand of purple hair out of his eyes. "Oh by the way Sunshine, I'm Damien Redfern."

Sunshine smiled and stayed like that slightly in a daze. Mary-Anne, who'd been working furiously with more cookies baking, banged her hand on the counter.

"Hey! Ahhh," she hollered trying to get Sunshines attention.

Sunshine jerked. "Sorry. Here's your cheese cake."

The man that had followed the Goth group came up to the counter. "Hello. I was wondering if I might speak to the owner?"

"Was there a problem with something?"

"No actually I was told this place had the best of everything and I'm throwing a party. I was wondering if the owner did catering."

Sunshine smiled. "Hey Mom! Can you come here?"

Mary-Anne sighed and turned off the burner. She walked through the swinging doors and came to stand in front of the exotic beauty of a man.

"Can I help you?"

"Do you do catering?"

"Come over here to the side. Sunny keep going."

"Right."

Mary-Anne glanced at her flour-covered hands and pounded them on her jeans. "I'm Mary-Anne Ngai," she offered her hand. 

The redheaded man smiled seemingly not to notice her outstretched hand. "Red Fern."

"I've done a few caterings. I'd be happy to help you out," Mary-Anne left her hand out for about two more seconds, but when he still hadn't taken it she dropped it casually to her side.

"Then here you are. That's everything I want down to the last drink. I'll be off now!" the man turned to leave.

"Wait! We need contract. I'll need to get my lawyer."

"Darling trust me when I say we don't need to go through all that! Trust me," his eyes darkened as he said this.

Words that Mary-Anne was about to say were cut off. "Okay."

Red Fern left towards the table of punk Goth kids.

~~~~~~~~~

"Okay Red, thanks for treating us to this wonderful coffee, but now lets get to business," Damien Redfern grinned at his old friend and he smacked his hands together forming a steeple. 

"Mary-Anne and Sunshine Ngai," Red replied not taking his eyes off them.

Damien lifted his green eyes to the young women. "What about them?"

A dark, mysterious smile spread across Red's face. "I smell money."

To Be Continued…

Well, I hope everyone was pleased with the beginnings of my new story. For all of the different types of foods, chocolates, and drinks I've made a homepage where you can receive and copy down the recipes for yourself if you'd like to try them. Links don't seem to be allowed to upload, so the link will be in my profile. I suggest, if anyone does decide to check it out to try the No-Bake cookies…mmm is all I can say. I only put up what I mention in my parts. So everything mentioned in this chapter is up at the site. Thanks for taking the time to read! If you go see it you'll notice I spent a lot of time on it. I know no life! Be nice when you review! Sage

Oh and sorry for any mistakes!


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